GM Benefit Rep

Lawrence Robson is the benefit rep at GM. Lawrence can assist GM members and Retirees with benefits questions which includes: Life Insurance, Healthcare, Tuition Assistance, Dental and Eye care. The benefit information on this website is a summary of your coverage and is intended as a quick reference only.

GM Benefit Books

Brand Name Drugs

If your doctor determines you need a specific Brand name Drug and your prescription has been rejected by Green Shield you should ask your doctor to fill out a Drug Special Authorization form and contact the Benefit reps for assistance.

Please have your dentist submit to Green Shield a predetermination form, which is an explanation of entitlement coverage’s. This will avoid any hidden costs.

Drugs, Prescription

Reimbursement of 90% of eligible expenses

100% after you incur $310 for out of pocket expenses

Coverage limited to the cost of lowest priced generic drug (or brand name drug if lower) drugs listed on the “Controlled Drug Formulary” or by special authorization.

90% of the actual dispensing fee, to a maximum of $9 per prescription

Over the counter Drugs are not covered (other than certain life sustaining drugs)

The federal government introduced a rule that medical plans covering OTC drugs, even with a prescription, will lose their tax-exempt status. In such a case, all health care benefits would become taxable to the employee. To avoid this problem, effective January 1, 2013, OTC drugs, other than certain life-sustaining drugs, will no longer be covered under the health care plan. A schedule of life-sustaining drugs will continue to be covered, including insulin, nitrates, allergy serums, injectable vitamins, diabetic testing agents, needles and syringes and vaccines.

Hearing Aid

Reimbursed if 36 months since last hearing aid claim Covers cost of hearing aid (on the body, in the canal, completely in the canal, digital and programmable aids)

Dispensing fees and repairs of hearing aids from dealer and repairs Pre-authorization for hearing aids and repairs.

Hospitalization

If you are hospitalized your coverage is limited to ward rates, it is important when you are being admitted when asked or filling in forms you tell the hospital staff you have ward coverage.

If you say you have private or semi private coverage you will be billed the difference.

In Home Nursing Care, RN or RPN)

Reimbursement under such coverage will be the amount charged to the patient for such service up to a maximum of six (6) hours per day, up to an annual maximum of $7,500.

The nursing services of a registered nurse (RN) or a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN)

In addition, reimbursement for the services of a Personal Support Worker (PSW), commonly known as a homemaker or health care aid, is an eligible benefit under the following conditions;

When prescribed by a physician,

The PSW has a certificate from an accredited program and is employed by a provincially recognized, bonded health care provider.

When used in conjunction with the in-home nursing care services of the RN or RPN described above,

Long Term Care and Chronic Care

The maximum payable after January 1, 2011 is $1,200 monthly.

Current monthly maximums will continue for those residing in a Long Term Care Facility before January 1, 2011.

Effective January 1, 2014 the maximum long term care rate for new entrants will be reduced from $1,200 to $800 per month.

Current residents of long term care facilities and those entering prior to January 1, 2014 will remain at current coverage levels (Long Term Care covers current active members).

Equipment

Orthotics must be through an authorized provider; maximum $400.00 for 2 pairs every 36 months.

Braces: coverage with prescription from physician are limited by cost. Air casts: coverage with prescription from physician, Note: is limited by cost. Insulin Pumps: up to $1,000 every 5 years Insulin

Infusion Pump: Eligible dependent children age 18 and under with Type 1 diabetes will be eligible for an insulin infusion pump benefit allowance, once every 5 years, to a maximum of $5,500 when prescribed by a physician. Eligible dependent children age 18 and under will also be eligible for an insulin infusion pump supplies to a maximum of $250 per month. The insulin infusion pump allowance for all others has been increased from $800 to $1,000 once every 5 years.

Paramedical Services

Chiropractor, $25 per visit to a maximum of $465 each benefit year.

Chiropodist,/Podiatrist, $11.45 per visit to a maximum of $325 each benefit year

Massage Therapist, $45 per visit to a maximum of $200 each benefit year.

Naturopath, $25 per visit to a maximum of $325 each benefit year.

Registered Clinical Psychologist or Master of Social Work (MSW), $50 per visit to a maximum of $625 per calendar year. Master of Psychology recognised for counselling services.

Speech Therapist, up to $1,100 per calendar year (including up to $125 for the initial assessment)

Physiotherapist, (NEW) $50 per visit to a maximum of $200 each benefit year (need doctor referral)

If a person has diabetes or other medical conditions, you will need a letter from the optometrist or ophthalmologist for coverage for the lenses when required. . Any person reimbursed for laser eye surgery will not be eligible for any other reimbursement under the Vision Care Program for a period of 48 months. Eye exams are covered by OHIP for people 19 and under and 65 and over, once every 12 months from the last exam. Anyone with the following conditions; diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, retinal disease, amblyopia, visual field defects, corneal disease, and stabismis, are eligible for an OHIP exam.

It’s a good idea to shop around for cataract surgeons since some in Ontario charge “predatory” prices for services not covered by OHIP, says a study from St. Michael’s Hospital. While OHIP covers the cost of cataract surgery and implantation of an artificial lens, some ophthalmologists charge an extra $358 to $2,790 for special lenses that also correct far-sightedness and astigmatism.

Toll Free Numbers Hewitt Associates,

1-877-442-4625

Important Notice’s

Tuition Deadline. General Motors Tuition Refund applications must be received by GM Benefit Centre (Hewitt) on or before March 31st 2017 for the calendar year 2016. If you have any questions or need assistance please contact Mark Roy or Lawrence Robson. 905-641-6444

Scholarships and bursaries applications are available in January Deadline for submission is April 28th

Dependant Certification, Members with children between the age of 19 and 25 will be receiving a dependant certification request from GM benefits Centre in the mail. Members who have subscribed to the GM benefit centre online and provided an e mail address will receive an e mail to your secure mailbox on the website. In either case it is imperative that you respond and verify your children are still dependants to maintain their eligibility. Should you require any help in responding please call us.

Legal Services ULSP

Unifor GM members have a legal service plan that covers a variety of legal fees such as wills and power of attorney and real estate fees. . If you want to use a different lawyer they may charge you more than your coverage under the plan, we advise you check before you proceed with a non Unifor Lawyer. Contact Unifor Legal services, 55 King Street, 2nd Floor (corner of King and Queen Street) St. Catharines 905-641-1313 Retired workers are entitled to coverage for legal services.

GM New Vehicle Purchase Program

GM Members, retirees and family members are eligible for discount on new GM vehicles. Members who want to purchase a new GM vehicle need to get an authorization number from GM. This needs to be done online. If you have set up an account number, go to GM Family First and enter your user name (e mail address) and password.

If you have not set up an account Go to GM Family First and set up your account, you will need your GM badge Number (clock number) and will be a asked to provide some personal information and create a security question. Make sure you keep this information as you will need it when you login.

One you have logged in at https://www.gmfamilyfirst.ca/logon Select Get Started, then New Vehicle Purchase, then select Obtain Authorization, you need to enter your date of birth, postal code (only the numbers) , relationship of the purchaser, then select review and confirm, then Get Authorization number.

Company Driven Vehicles

If you are interested in a Company Driven Vehicle, Go to GM Family First and log in, select Get Started, then Company Owned Vehicle Purchase and Tagging. You can look at the list of vehicles available on a daily basis, view the vehicles options and when the vehicle will be available, if you want a vehicle listed, select Tag this Vehicle.

If you need assistnace call Lawrence Robson the GM Benefit rep 905-641-6444 or stop in at the Union office.

New Hire Benefits

Following are two links the first is a document that explains the changes in benefits for workers transitioning from SWE to GM New Hire Benefits.

The second link is for new hire pension benefits, the benefit provide is Great West Life

Out of Province/Country

When traveling, make sure you have your

Ontario Health Card,

Green Shield number(s) and the

GM Benefits User Name and PIN number

Emergency numbers to call if you need assistance. From the United Stated or Canada, call 1-800-936-6226; from other locations call collect 0-519-742-3556.

Please note; Allianz Global Assistance must be notified within 48 hours of a medical emergency. All benefit inquiries to General Motors, outside or specific questions to Green Shield are now handled by the GM Canada Benefits Centre. Call toll free: 1-877-442-4625. Please have your user I.D. and PIN # ready when calling. If you have to pay for a prescription or doctors visit while out of the country, call the appropriate number and ask for the claim form to be sent to you. Keep the receipt(s) and send them with the form to Green Shield when you return home.

Password (GM Canada Benefit Centre)

To retrieve information about your benefits you need to be able to access the GM Canada Benefit Centre. On this website you can see your coverage, order forms, change beneficiaries, find out about your pensions and your health care benefits. Before you can access all of this information you need to have an set up an access code and password. It is important that you set this up as soon as possible as it is only a matter of time before you will need this so might as well set it up now. If you have not already established a User ID or Password, you must contact the GM Canada Benefits Centre at the phone number below and establish a temporary Password by regular mail before you can set up a User ID or use the new e-mail option. Once you have the temporary password you can change it online.

Lost or Forgotten Password

If you have lost or forgotten your password and code, the GM Canada Benefits Centre has added the ability to reset your security Password by e-mail. The temporary Password can now be sent to your e-mail account within 15 minutes of the request.

Contact Information

To contact the GM Benefit Centre and set up your User ID and/or e-mail address, simply call toll-free 1-877-442-4625 Representatives are available Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm Eastern Time. If you are calling from outside North America, you can reach the GM Canada Benefits Centre at 1-847-883-0745. Note that there will be a charge for this call.or ask either the pension or benefits rep to help you.

Retiree Benefits (GM) Health Care Trust

The benefits for GM retirees is provided by the asrTrust. The benefits are different from active employees click on the following link to see a summary of the changes Retiree Benefit Summary. Before you retire it is advisable to talk to the benefit rep to review your benefit needs. You will also need to consider if you will need optional health care coverage for travel insurance. If you plan to be out of the provide of Ontario for longer that 30 days you have the option to purchase additional coverage up to 150 extra days. To see the costs and coverage click Travel Insurance. The good news about the retiree benefit GM has paid all the funding committed to the fund which has approximately 2.1 billion dollars, this is enough funding to cover health care benefits for current and future retirees until 2070.

Any retirees or future retirees who have questions about their coverage should contact either the benefit rep or pension rep.

Special Offer for 199 Members

In an effort to provide our members with the best benefit coverage possible. Your local union has engaged a number of local providers and we are pleased to report that Sears has agreed to provide hearing aid protection over and above what our Collective Agreement/ASR Trust will provide. On the same note, Welland Avenue Chiropractic and Massage Therapy have worked with us to come up with a plan to ease out of pocket expenses for these important health services. We urge all our active and retired members to go to our website: www.caw199.com for further information on these new initiatives. Chiropractic Special Offer

Hearing aids are covered under General Motors Unifor local 199 benefits. Hear for life Hearing Clinic offers free hearing test. They will also give members $25 gift card with every set of hearing aids purchased. To book an appointment call 905-562-8327, 2A Tremont Drive, St Catharines.

S&A EDB Benefit Rates

Tuition Assistance, Dependant

Dependants of GM members who are entering post secondary education can apply for dependant tuition assistance funding. The amount of the yearly benefit is $1,300. The tuition assistance is a taxable benefit for the recipient (the student) but are paid directly to the employee. Application forms are available from the GM benefit Centre 1-877-442-4625. You will need a user name and ID if you don’t have one you should set one up as you will need it.. We recommend ordering forms and keeping them on file for when you need them. .Important Notice GM Employees. General Motors Tuition Refund applications must be received by GM Benefit Centre (Hewitt) on or before March 31st for the previous calendar year. If you have any questions or need assistance please contact Lawrence Robson 905-641-6444.

(Please note there are other Bursaries Available to our members Unifor has(25) Unifor bursaries that are awarded to sons/daughters of Unifor members in good standing entering their first year of post secondary education (i.e. university, community college, technological institute, teachers’ college, nursing school, etc.) One bursary will be available for a Unifor member with at least one year seniority attending their first year of post secondary education. These are entrance bursary’s and are not renewable for students entering subsequent years of study. To learn more about Unifor bursaries, follow the links. Scholarships from Unifor The skilled trades association also have a bursary, click on the following link for more information. Eric John Bursary)